Things Came Back
by phonexia
Summary: Set after Reunited but before Escapism. Lapis and Peridot have just reformed, and Bismuth wants to train them up in case they are needed on Homeworld.


The little pumpkin was staring uneasily at a makeshift pillow-nest on the counter, gaze fixed on the blue and green gems that laid on it. The temple door remained silent in the background as a gem soldier, clad with a large iron breastplate and rainbow hair relaxed for the day. Bismuth swore to protect the two reforming gems, but that was two weeks ago now. All she really had was the occasional visit from Greg to keep her even remotely occupied, though the human only had so much to give her. The lack of action made her restless, and it practically drove her insane. "Stars, when will I get another gem," she said aloud, aiming it at nobody in particular. Pumpkin made a little whine at her, refusing to take her gaze off of the gems.

"Wow, you must really miss them," Bismuth exclaimed to the walking plant. She slowly got up and waltzed over to the gems, petting their pet and giving a soft sigh.

It was then that the peridot began to glow, a bright light emerging from the green gem. Pumpkin began to bark at the shaping Peridot, and all Bismuth could manage was a smirk of relief. Emerging from this light was a gem, skin green as grass. Yellow on her body created a star on her chest and some boots. She slowly floated to the ground before jumping, fist extended. "Hey you clods! It's gonna take more than that to…" and she was left staring at the Bismuth she had met before.

"Hey there space pirate, see you're still enthusiastic about the fight. You may want to slow down though, save your energy so we can take it to the upper crusts when we need to," Bismuth said, smiling at the energy the little one exhibited.

"Easy for you to say. Hey where is everyone? Where's…" a look of anxiety took her over as she stopped herself. "Lapis! I gotta help Lapis!" she shouted with a panic that Bismuth hadn't seen for a while.

"Woah! Woah! Slow down! She's right there," she said to the Peridot. Peridot saw her poofed friend, and her panic turned to sadness. Her heart almost sank, and she didn't really know what was bugging her most: seeing her friend, determined to avoid another war at all costs, stuck poofed or the fact that she was not able to stop it. Her insecurity creeped up, seeing the armored gem still around. "What happened?" was all Peridot could summon.

Bismuth filled her in on everything: the corruptions, Steven's plan, and the poofed gems. Peridot attentively listened, pumpkin in her lap, and giving the occasional glance back at Lapis. "I wish I could have protected them," she muttered.

"Hey you were pretty brave out there, being outmatched and yet taking them on with all your fury," Bismuth said with an energy that only she could really muster when she talked about the fight. It was her attempt at comforting the poor gem, but it just made her sigh and look at the blue gem still on the counter. She pondered the fight on the beach again, how "cloddy" she was running up to Yellow like that.

The thoughts were interrupted by a glowing light emerging from the counter, much to the delight of Peridot and Pumpkin. The first noticeable thing from her silhouette was the lack of a skirt, replaced with blue pants held up by gold string at her waist. Her crop top was back, highlighted by 3 dark points forming the top of her star. The last thing to catch Peridot's eye was the gold sandals, something out of character for the previously barefoot gem she remembered. "Hey," Lapis said through a little groan, Yellow's attack and the stasis of reforming leaving her a little tired.

"Lapis!" Peridot shouted as she ran up to hug her companion, letting out all the energy she built up from those days apart.

"Woah easy there Peri!" She exclaimed back at her little friend, seeming genuinely happy at the moment they were having.

"How could I be easy? I missed you so much!" Peridot nearly shouted at her friend, and this caused Lapis' smile to waver a little. Her fear, her trauma, they both caused her to leave Peridot. She was learning to manage her trauma, but this interaction was something she didn't yet know how to manage. Guilt flooded into her for a bit, and then that was replaced by fear as she finally noticed the third gem in the room.

"Hey. You must be Lapis. Nice work with that barn. You really showed that gem what you were made of!" Bismuth told the water gem, though it went in one ear and out the other. Fear, pain, all rushing back. She hadn't noticed Bismuth in the heat of the fight, where stoicism prevailed for her. However here, that stoic mindset began to break down a little, as she saw the catalyst of her trauma. Standing before her was the Bismuth that poofed her, she was sure of that.

"I-I need to get some fresh air," she stuttered out, breaking for the door and flying over to the late afternoon shore. Peridot and Bismuth were left to look out the open door.

"Jeez Bismuth, she really seems to have something with you," Peridot said to the shocked warrior.

"Yeah I guess, I just do…" Bismuth cut herself off as she remembered. It was a very small moment for her, but a moment nonetheless. Bismuth remembered poofing a Lapis Lazuli during the days of the rebellion. She remembered taking pride in poofing that fear stricken aristocrat, and yet there she was. "I, met her once before Peridot. I poofed her during the rebellion."

Peridot got a look of realization. "Oh no," she whispered to herself, much to the confusion of Bismuth. Sensing the need to elaborate, in monotone, she just slowly stated "Uh, she was poofed during the rebellion and that led her to being trapped in a mirror for thousands of years. I guess you did that"

Bismuth's heart fell to her feet. The pride she felt at poofing an aristocrat was almost utterly quashed in a moment of sympathy. She now had a face to her actions, and she saw that she had caused enough pain with one act that this gem was afraid to even see her. It was the guilt that one only gets in a moment like this, and she pitied Lapis. "Woah. That… is rough" was all she could summon.

"Yeah, I think you should give her some space," Peridot vainly tried to say as Bismuth descended down the stairs and fled towards the beach.

The waves lapped on the gem's feet as Lapis sat, staring at the setting sun. She felt bad, her fearful impulses causing her to make a mess of her reformation. She felt a presence coming down the beach, took a glance, and turned back to the ocean when she saw the glint of Bismuth's armor. She was nervous, but she wasn't going to run away anymore. "May I sit?" the armor clad gem said to her, to which Lapis could only nod. Lapis trembled a little as the bigger gem sat near her. However, the gem was able to summon up the courage to stay. She knew they needed to work together, and they would do that.

"Want me to leave you be?" Bismuth asked, noticing the discomfort Lapis was projecting.

"Oh! No no, you're fine. I'm sorry I ran off like that, actually. I assume you know?" Lapis said to Bismuth, stuttering it out but slowly getting comfortable around her poofer.

"Yeah, and why are you apologizing? If anything, I should be owing you the apology," Bismuth replied, bewildered that the gem could even consider apologizing to her, given their circumstances. "And if it helps you, I understand why you ran from me," she added..

"Yeah Bismuth, it still doesn't make it okay to run off like that, not when I already had shown that I was better," she poured out, opening that guilt to Bismuth.

"Hey, there's the fact that you're talking to me now. Why you're braver than the little green one was charging up at ol' Yellow like that. Well, almost as brave I'll admit. I just know how to fight, and the individual didn't come up until now." Bismuth looked at her after saying that, taking in the gem that was struggling to heal because of her actions. This was a living wake up call, and it made her swell up in ways she hadn't felt since the war.

"Hey, Bismuth right? It's, okay now. I'll be alright, and I don't want to dwell on that past any more than I really need to," Lapis replied, finally turning to her and giving a little smile. This put Bismuth at ease. The guilt may be there, but it wasn't gonna make any of their jobs any harder. "Bismuth, a good friend taught me to just think of the question "what if something good happens?" and that is the question I am following."

Bismuth was rather shocked at how well she was taking it. She still felt the guilt of what had happened, but she did feel more at ease around the gem. It looked to her like Lapis had done a lot of soul searching on her own, and was becoming a better gem for it. "Ya know, you're a tough little gem like this," she said to Lapis with the admiration she could only really feel to her fellow fighters. It was odd since Lapis was clearly not the fighter, yet right now she seemed as brave as the gem that poofed her.

"Hey, thanks Bismuth," the water gem said, cracking a bigger smile at the armored gem. "Anyway, I should probably go talk to Peridot. I want to make sure she's okay with everything, and I don't think she's experienced anything like this before." The worry for her friend was genuine, considering how much getting poofed had messed her up. Lapis hoped that Peridot was frankly handling the situation better. So, Lapis flew on back to the house, with Bismuth giving a quick glance at the sun before heading back herself.

"Hey Peridot, you doing okay?" Lapis asked, her voice carrying a soft tone.

"I'm well, surprised you're asking given what just happened.'

"Well, I knew I was fine and I didn't know about you."

"Lazuli I am fine with it. I know you're worried about poofing but honestly, I'm good," Peridot said back to her worried friend. She had exaggerated herself a little, knowing it wasn't great to fail, but she knew that wasn't what Lazuli meant. She was fine now and that was what mattered. "And Lazuli, I had been bubbled before, it's fine," and the two just appreciated each other for a while, not knowing what words to bring up next.

"Hey I know you all are busy but we need to be ready for the call!" Bismuth shouted at the two, ever the fighting type.

"Right and how do you want us to do that?" Lapis asked, tilting her head at their new drill sergeant.

"You two are about each other, right? Maybe you could, you know…" Bismuth was struggling with the words, knowing what fusion meant and the contradiction in her reasoning. Her thought process was, disturbingly Homeworld-like. They needed an edge in case something happened, and maybe the two of them together could give them that edge.

"Uh Bismuth, Lazuli had some…" Peridot started to say before Lapis chirped in with "let's do it, Peri." Lapis gave Peridot a little smile, an attempt to assuage her anxiety. She knew that Peridot would still be scared to hurt her, but she hoped that giving her little signal would maybe say to Periot that it was okay.

"Oh my stars!" Peridot blurted out, startled that Lapis would be ready for a thing that she seemed so, hurt by.

Lapis giggled, looking keeping her smile up. "You ready?" She asked to Peridot, looking for the approval.

Without another word, Peridot gave a nod. They both slowly stood up, some hesitation in their movements. They made contact, starting a slow dance. Lapis became a drop of water, Peridot twirling pebble. They seemed to feel something, something between them, and then it stopped. It was a blur, but two were two, and they realized they hadn't fused.

"S-sorry!" Peridot stuttered out before running off towards Beach City proper.

"Hey Peridot! Wait!" Lapis shouted at her, trying to get her to stop. "It's not your fault," she said softly, hanging her head down in defeat as the little green gem became a spot in the distance. The rising moon highlighted her as she stooped on a nearby tree, accenting the blues of her skin. The tree covered her, and she had become a blue spot on the top of a hill. Bismuth pitied the sight, and became determined to do something.

She walked up to Lapis, her steps audible in the quiet night. Lapis looked at her, though to Bismuth it looked more like a vague shape until she got close. Her hair blew in the soft wind, and she stood above Bismuth as they began to talk.

"So Lapis, what happened there?"

"I don't know Bismuth. We tried to fuse, and it felt fine for a bit, albeit a little nerve wracking at first. By the end I felt right but then… I don't know," Lapis' voice carried a kind of softness that Bismuth associated with sadness. She knew that Lapis felt bad about what happened, and was genuine in not knowing.

"You know Lapis, did you try talking to her?"

"What?" She looked at Bismuth with a puzzled look.

"You know, talk to her like how I talked to you. You did run off with the barn. You haven't closed that chapter of your friendship. You need to talk to her about that, make it up to her somehow."

"Yeah but, it's too late now Bismuth, she's gone…"

"She's not gone forever; you came back and she will too. Tell you what, I'll get Peridot and you get ready to talk," she said with a smile. Lapis gave a faint smile back, walking down to Bismuth. They were level down the hill. Lapis took a deep breath, nodded, and Bismuth was taking off for the faint lights of Beach City.

The town was glowing in the moonlight now. The chaos of colors coming together and creating the image of a town almost overwhelmed Bismuth. The town was still recuperating from the Diamonds' arrival and subsequent brawl. The scars of their fight were still covering the place, an elephant in the room that people tried to avoid. Bismuth got the feeling that the talk of gems made the townsfolk feel a little powerless at the present time, a force that always beat them. She was slow, carefully searching, armor making her a star in the chaotic light.

Bismuth found Peridot on a curb, sulking and hidden from the primary street light. The marvelous thing was her hovering on a trash lid, sitting cross legged as it levitated over the sidewalk. "Hey Peridot," Bismuth said as she calmly approached the gem.

"Why are you talking to me?I couldn't fuse. I just have these metal powers, I cannot help you."

"Are you kidding? You're great in your own way. You don't need strength to be a strong fighter, why look at the trash lid. You can zip across the battlefield, gathering information, or dropping one of us off. I can't fly, but you can now. You're useful, even if you got poofed by yellow." It all had just come out of Bismuth. There wasn't thinking, there was just talking. It seemed to do the trick, however, and Peridot gave Bismuth a pondering smile. She was wondering how Bismuth could think of uses for the trash lid so quickly.

"Y-yeah, Bismuth, I guess I can. Sorry I ran off, I just felt ashamed. We couldn't fuse, I felt the past few months with her just tower over me. It's okay though. It was my fault…" She looked down at the concrete, and Bismuth looked back at Peridot with a but of bewilderment.

"Well that's interesting, because it is not your fault, and it is not Lapis' fault either. You two just need to talk, settle out your emotional baggage, and try again if you decide to. From what I know, fusion needs clarity and trust. You two clearly trust each other, now you just need to trust yourselves." She walked towards Peridot and put a hand on her shoulder, and in a comforting voice told her "come on, let's go home."

The two walked back to the house and temple, the giant statue still looking out at the calm ocean. They had talked the small talk, and Peridot was much calmer, and her eyes were almost beaming under the visor. "And now Peridot Lapis should be… well she was here," Bismuth's voice trailed down as she realized Lapis was gone. She had no clue where the blue gem was, and both started fearing for the worst.

It took a few minutes of some more small talk until, of all people, Greg showed up. "Hey uh, Bismuth and Peridot, what's up?"

"Nothing much, just wondering where Lapis went. Why are you here?" Bismuth responded with a little sigh.

"Oh actually, I came to you guys about Lapis. A while ago she came to me to tell you that she was getting something and that she'd be back in the afternoon. Man that gem sure is a weird one, wouldn't uh tell me what she was doing," he said, a hint of confusion coming across in his voice. Bismuth gave a little snicker and Peridot gave a sigh of relief.

"Heh, tell me about it Greg. Thanks for the news, and goodnight solider" Bismuth said, relaxing back. Greg wished her a goodnight back, still confused as to how he gets into these situations. Finally Peridot remained awake, patiently watching the moon set over the lapping waves.

Not much happened as night became morning and morning became afternoon. Bismuth had long decided to go inside but Peridot, Peridot was determined to wait. She felt as brave as she had on the wedding night, and she wasn't going to risk that. She was watching the ocean, the repeating waves giving her an almost calming effect.

A small blue dot appeared on the horizon, growing closer, and Peridot grew a smile. The winged gem appeared over the waves, a wrapped box in her hand, and a smile breaking out across her face. She touched down in front of Peridot, gave her a smile, and began with "hey Peridot."

"Hey Lazuli, we do need to talk."

"I know we need to talk."

"So, you ran off with our home Lazuli, and honestly, it hurt," she began, looking at Lapis, a tear growing underneath her visor. "I know I didn't want to say things to upset you, and that was wrong. I am sorry I wasn't honest sooner. I wish I hadn't been so terrible for you. I wish I was able to stick up to you sooner, maybe you would have stayed. I wish I could have been better to you, not hurt you as much as I have."

Lapis looked at her with disbelief. "Are you kidding? I have been actually awful to you. I had smashed your tape recorder, made you feel that you couldn't speak your mind to me, ran off with your home, and then smashed it into Blue Diamond. I should have stayed, I should have worked on my grief, been honest with you. I…" She paused, and the two looked at each other for the briefest of moments. Lapis took a hand out from behind her back, the hand holding the wrapped box, and gave it to Peridot. "I'm sorry Peridot."

Peridot slowly took the box in her hands. "Lazuli, it's okay," she told her, smiling at her. Lapis looked back at her, "Open it up. It's for you Peridot."

Peridot slowly slid her fingers across the wrapping, peeling it away. When the tape recorder inside was revealed, she just gleamed. "Wow Lazuli, it's perfect!" she shouted with an excitement she hadn't felt in a while.

"Really? It's that good Peridot?"

"Yes it is Lazuli, it is perfect," she said, and both smiled. "Ya know, it seems like we have hurt each other, but we have also helped each other. Lazuli, I'm just glad you're back."

"I know Peridot, I can tell from that smile of yours," she said back to her. They both beamed at each other and then they embraced. Every emotion seemed to spill out into one motion. Lapis became a flowing stream, and Peridot a shining mineral. Space flowed into each other. Things became bright. Two became one. Both knew what was happening, and embraced it. Their emotions came together, and all was an experience.


End file.
